Global roll-out of electric vehicles

Automotive manufacturers, electric equipment suppliers and utilities have been brought together to accelerate a global roll-out of Electric Vehicles (EVs).

At a round table meeting in the United States in January - the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and e8, a global organisation of 10 world leading electricity companies, for the first time, brought together car manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, industry associations and utilities to discuss EVs.

All stakeholders confirmed the IEC’s existing and proposed International Standards for EV charging satisfy their global needs, IEC said in a statement.

Until now, little communication has taken place at an international level between the major stakeholders to coordinate work around EVs. For the very first time, the IEC, in cooperation with e8, provided them with a global platform to discuss mutual needs and requirements, IEC said.

The stakes in EVs are high and growing and the car industry considers EVs as one of the key solutions for maintaining sustainable individual transportation. Governments increasingly push for electrified transportation to reduce CO2 emissions as one of the tools to fight climate change, IEC said.

IEC former vice-president and senior technology consultant Frank Kitzantides said that to make mass charging possible, global solutions are needed.

“Charging systems must be user-friendly, largely the same, and safe and easy to operate and use. To achieve this, all stakeholders need to cooperate to better understand each other’s role.”

To ensure sufficient energy supply and to develop the necessary charging infrastructures, future e-mobility developments must be considered, and to achieve this all stakeholders need to be involved. Standardization must be quick and international to achieve global technology roll-out and durable infrastructure development, without market fragmentation due to incompatible charging systems, IEC said.

High-level representatives of major car manufacturers, including BMW, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault and Toyota; equipment manufacturers such as Eaton, General Electric, Hubbell and Schneider; utilities such as AEP, Duke, EDF, Electrobras, Hydro Quebec, Kansai Electric Power, State Grid Corporation of China and TEPCO; along with the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the International Organization for Standardization took part in the meeting.

IEC said all stakeholders confirmed that the IEC’s existing and proposed International Standards for EV charging (on the charger side: plug, socket and cord; on the vehicle side: connector and inlet) satisfy their global needs. Four charging modes have been retained, covering AC and DC charging and all participants underlined their preference for using IEC, ISO and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) international standards. Follow-up meetings are already being planned.